Scottish Opera… You’re On Notice!
by Christie Connolley
Herald Scotland is calling the Scottish Opera out on it’s plans to cut the orchestra, an act that could spell trouble for the future of the company.
“Well done, Scottish Opera. After decades of turmoil, after losing half of its administrative staff, all of its in-house singers and its entire chorus; after having shot itself in the foot on countless occasions in the past through management blunders; and after losing more than 50% of its repertoire, the company has now executed the coup de grace – it has shot itself in the heart. As one of its longest-serving and wisest former company members remarked to me recently: “The company is slowly bleeding to death.”
The news we carried this week – that the company proposes to make its 54-strong orchestra part-time, working for only 26 weeks a year – will accelerate that demise. It’s been a long time coming. There are immediate effects. Players are already leaving. Others are preparing and packing their bags. There are young musicians in the orchestra with mortgages. There are numerous married couples in the orchestra who must bail out as fast as they can to secure full-time employment anywhere else to protect their families, not that there’s much around in the way of full-time work.”
What do you think? Is this the beginning of the end for Scottish Opera or are they tough financial decisions to stay afloat?
